Featured What are on these men's legs?

Debora, I think this is quite important. Maybe the Town of Minonk can confirm this photo, maybe they can't. However, what you have uncovered about stringing a couple lines of lights (with strings of lights above their heads in the photo) and the uncanny resemblance of the gentleman in the front are compelling.

If that is Miner T. Ames, the Minonk Talk webpage says that Miner T. Ames died January 13, 1890. However, in another place, it says Mr. Ames built a third store in 1896 after fire destroyed the second store. Those two dates don't jive.

Armed with the information from Figtree3, I took another look at the large flag in the photo because the flag appeared to be 1912 to 1959 based on 6 rows of stars. I was wrong with what I wrote before. The flag has 5 rows of stars with the stars in a straight vertical line. That places the flag as 1863 - 1865 or older 1848 - 1851. Therefore, the photo could be from after 1848.

The stringing of the street lights in Minonk appears to be some time between 1869, when the coal company was founded, and 1896, when fire destroyed the second store that they located at the corner of Chestnut and 7th Streets. The Town of Minonk may be able to confirm a date.

I looked at Google Maps this morning. There are no old buildings remaining at the corner of Chestnut and 7th Streets, so I cannot compare the photo to what is there now. More research to do. Thank you and Figtree3.

 

There's a Woodford County historical society which might be helpful place to start.

https://www.facebook.com/WoodfordCountyHistory/

Debora

 

Good idea. This morning I wrote to the email contact for the Minonk Talk website. If I don't hear back from him, I will write to the Woodford County Historical Society. If this is a photo of the first electrically lighted street in the world, and nobody has a photo of it, or this is a unique photo to add to the archives, it is worth pursing. I will let you know how things go. Thank you for finding the information. It seems to fit, but who knows. History is one of those things that is written without all the information, so one has to fill in the blanks.

 

Debora, just an update. I heard back from Minonk Talk. They are interested in seeing the photo. I just sent it to them by email. I hope they have pictures of this street corner around this timeframe. If the buildings match, I would say that nails it. It is still a longshot, but I will let you know either way.

 

How interesting! Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Debora

 

So, Debora, here is the latest. The person from Minonk Talk did a little research. Believe it or not, he already posted it on Minonk Talk. I just sent the photo to him this morning so I don't know how he did this so fast.

According to him, this photo isn't of the day they strung the lights nor is that Miner T. Ames. However, the Minonk Talk person confirmed the building on the right side of the picture. The person in the middle, in my opinion, may be Miner T. Ames' son, Knowlton (complete guess on my part). If this isn't from the day they strung the lights in 1882, then it must be some kind of anniversary celebration of the stringing of the lights.

Post on Minonk Talk: https://www.minonktalk.com/oldphoto.aspx?id=000511&searchword=none

I wrote the Minonk Talk person back and told him about you having the greatest credit for piecing this together. I love history and am happy that this piece of history has now been rediscovered and not lost forever. I think your detective work has resulted in something very positive. Thank you for making my week. This is so much more fun than working.

 

He must have been very interested in your photo to have posted it so quickly. Far be it from me to tell someone from Minonk what's what but that doesn't look like the Schlitz Opera House to my eye.

Debora

 

I see four buildings on the right side of the picture. I assume they are referring to one of the two that are closer to the camera. @Debora , I agree that none of them look like the building in the picture you found. Unless the one in the postcard is showing the side of the building (the larger building closest to the camera). It possibly looks different from the front as you move farther towards the back. But from what I can see there is no resemblance with the side roof line.

Also, of course because of the flag, the photo is from 1912 or later. Edited... I mean @Eric Haefli 's photo.

 

I hear you. I had the same reaction. Because it did not look like the same building (plus the corner was identified previously as Chestnut & 7th Streets, not Chestnut & 6th Streets), I did a little checking online for the Schlitz Opera House in Minonk. Look at a later photo on Page 9. Could be the same building minus the cornice.

https://www.minonktalk.com/schlitz1.htm

My hope is that the Minonk Talk person has more information than I can lay my hands on. Plus, who knows? Since he posted this online, someone may chime in with more information to correct what is wrong. Like I wrote previously, history becomes history without all the necessary information.

 

Plus, this photo could be from 1882 before the Schlitz Opera House was built. The strung lights don't look like they would be durable enough to stay hanging for 15 plus years.

 

Except the flag is from 1912-1959.

 

I went back and looked at the photo more closely. It appears there are 5 rows of stars, not 6 rows like I wrote previously. I am not entirely sure, but I could only see 5 rows for certain. The 6th row could be hidden because of the way the flag is unfurled. The smaller flag held by the man on the left, is designed like the 43-star flag, 45-star flag, or the 49-star flag.

I hope that someone in Minonk can add information about it. All it would take is a local newspaper article from the era or someone identifying a person in the photo to help date the photo.

 

Corrected, not the 49-star flag. The 49-star flag has 7 rows of stars. The 43-star and 45-star flags have 6 rows. The small flag in the photo definitely has 6 rows of stars.

 

This looks like the flour that's advertised on the side of building to right. The "Eventually" campaign was launched in 1907.

https://www.goldmedalflour.com/our-story/

Debora



https://www.goldmedalflour.com/our-story/

 

Also, no other flag between the 1840s and 1912 has stars lined up directly under each other in the far left column. Flags between those dates have different numbers of stars in the rows, so the left hand stars do not make a straight column from top to bottom.

 

This appears to be one of the advertisers on the left side -- America's Cup Coffee.



This appears to be the other -- Blue Ribbon canned goods.

Both were products of Oakford & Fahnestock Grocers of Peoria, Illinois in the early 1900s.



Debora

 

Thank you Debora. I keep adding 25 years, or 30 years, or 50 years to 1882 as a reason to celebrate the stringing of the lights. Adding 25 years to 1882 puts the photo at 1907. The large flag, if it has 6 rows of stars would be from 1912 to 1959. If it has 5 rows of stars, it would be the 35 star flag of the 1860s. That would make the flag really old at the time of the photo (1907 or later). At a 50 year anniversary, that would put the photo at 1932. And, not that the photo has to be tied to an anniversary. However, why would they have linemen in the photo at this corner where we are pretty sure is the location of the light stringing of 1882?

The Gold Medal "Everything" wall paintings look to be in pretty good shape, so they could be new at the time of the photo, but that website you provided said they used the "Everything" campaign as late as the 1950s.

So, if someone knows clothes fashion, is the older man's suit the style of 1907 or 1932? Too bad there are no vehicles in the photo. That would have helped. I would lean toward 1932, but my family would have long left the area before 1932. My information had them moving to Morton, IL in 1890, except for one great uncle who graduated from Benson High School in 1906. Benson is really close to Minonk and he had uncles, aunts, and cousins in Minonk.

 

Certainly not 1935. According to the internet, the streets of Midonk were paved in 1915. And I see a watch fob here. If I had to make an educated guess, I'd think just on the cusp of World War I.

Debora

 

Sorry, @Eric Haefli , I missed the 35-star flag of the 1860s. As you mentioned, it is unlikeky to be that one. Much more likely to be a current flag at the time the photo was taken. Too bad you don't know whether the photo was card mounted, or a postcard, etc. All of that kind of information can help with dating. Debora is doing a great job (as usual) in analysis.

 

You're right. All the credit goes to Debora. This whole thing started with me just wanting to know what was on the men's legs. It has grown to be so much more. What a benefit!!

I still have the photo or postcard ... somewhere. Once I scan them, I put them in storage boxes, but I do not document in what storage box. I know I have it somewhere because I never throw away an old photo.